Hoof Beats
by Jacovi
Summary: . "I think that there is more to the Triforce than what we know." As if to prove what Link had just said, the stallion tossed up his head slightly and walked forward, then stopped and turned around to see if he was following.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda (juuust in case that wasn't obvious!). I also do not own the book that the two characters are referring to (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there!). It is called Chosen by a Horse and it is an amazing book written by Susan Richards. I highly recomend it.**

**Also, I welcome flames, but please refrain from using profanity. ;)**

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Sometimes the basic plots of stories (mainly fanfics) are so horribly clichéd that no one really desires to read every single one of them, nor write another one. I read the one story that started all of this, one that the author claimed _not _to be fiction. She claimed that it was a recording, not something that she'd made up. Everyone knew that what she'd written about was impossible, and believed that she was merely joking. I thought nothing of it until it was my turn.

I came down to my horseback riding stable about four or more days a week. I didn't always get to ride, but I enjoyed grooming, petting, and just plain being around all of the horses. I was far from an expert on horses, but I did know basics and such, and was still learning. I was learning how to do competitive riding for dressage and etc. I wasn't actually sure if I was going to _be _in a horse show, but I did enjoy learning all of the fundamentals.

From dressage to barrel racing, my riding stable could teach anyone just about any_thing. _I took a crack at jumping and barrel racing once, and wanted to very much to continue, until my parents found out and told me that I was _never _going to do either as long as I lived under their roof. When I asked why, their reason was that I could 'die'. I found this ridiculous. They could only name _one _person that has died from jumping and they wouldn't let me jump because of that, yet _millions _of people die from cars possibly _every _year, and they'd still let me get my driver's license when I was of age. Parents just made no sense.

The horse that I rode down at the stables was a magnificent American Saddlebred, who was fittingly named Flight. Flight was a flaming chestnut, no markings on his well-shaped face. His mane was short, but not cropped, and was a brilliant red mahogany color, perhaps even crimson. He had large, expressive eyes and graceful hooked ears, always seeming alert, while still managing to be playful. His neck was long and fined, arched at his poll, with deep and sloping shoulders. Prominent withers topped it all off, revealing him as a near perfect American Saddlebred in my mind. Judges may see something that the breed shouldn't have, or have a different opinion than me. I didn't care though.

Flight didn't belong to me but it didn't stop me from considering him my horse. I could spend hours around him, even if I wasn't riding him. Just grooming, petting, and, heck, being around him was great. Sometimes I'd just sit on the outside of the stable, against his stall. He had two openings on his stall, one in the front and one in the back. I'd read a book while he would stick his head out of the opening, sometimes seemingly to follow the words on the pages, and sometimes just nibbling on my hair. Whether he mistook my hair for hay, or just plain liked nibbling on it, I didn't know. Occasionally, I'd sit in Flight's stall and quietly read my book to him. I knew that he couldn't understand the story, or even what I was saying, but every now and then he'd stare at me and I could tell that he enjoyed just hearing the sound of my voice.

My mom dropped me off at the stable on a Wednesday evening because she had some errands to run and it might take her a while. Whenever she has to run a lot of errands, I ask if she can drop me off at the stable so I can spend time with the horses. It works out well because the stable isn't very far away and I get to be there for about three hours or more. Wednesday evenings were my favorite time to come to the stables because my friend had a lesson at 6:30 and she usually came early.

I found her in her horse's stall, about to tack him up. Most of the horses at the stable were Saddlebreds, and the horse that she rode was no exception. Pepper was bay, though his pelt was a different kind of brown, the color of mahogany almost instead of fire. I remembered the first time I met him he nibbled my fingers and then sneezed up my nose. Ah, such pleasant memories.

My friend's name was Michelle, a name that she really loved and was proud of. She was shorter than me by about an inch, possibly two, and she had semi-long dirty blonde hair. Her eyes were gray, always shining and lively. Shortly after I had met Michelle, she had shown me this stable, and I had immediately started taking lessons.

Michelle looked up at me as she finished with the saddle. She gave me a big 'ole grin as she reached for the bridle and held the bit in front of Pepper's mouth. He reluctantly opened his mouth as she shoved it in and strapped the throat lash.

"Hey there, Ami," she greeted, attaching the reins to the bridle, and taking Pepper's halter off of his neck. I smiled and gave Pepper an affectionate pat.

"Hi," I replied. Pepper snorted as Michelle began to lead him out of his stall. She rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Pepper, you lazy brute," she teased, leading him forward. Pepper nickered in protest, and I chuckled.

"I think he wants a break," I said.

"He's already_ had _a break. He has a break whenever I'm not riding him!" I laughed.

"Well, my mom's running errands so I'm going to go see Flight." She nodded.

"You bring a book again?"

"You know it," I said, and pulled a small, paperback book out of my bag to show her.

"_That _one? Didn't I tell you to read the ending at home? It'll make you cry!"

"I _already read_ it at home, and for the record, it _did_ make me cry!" I moaned. The book was about a woman and a horse named Lay Me Down. The ending was so emotional and well written that it had actually made me cry. The last time that I'd cried while reading a book was in fourth grade, and I still didn't exactly cry. A few tears had rolled down my cheek. This book, however, made me _cry. _Like, flat out _bawling._ Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, o_kay _then. Hey, so you just gonna sit with Flight the entire time again?" I shrugged. I hadn't really thought it through.

"I was thinking that maybe I'd walk the trail," I said. There was a forty-five minute trail on the farm's property. I'd never gone on it, and I wanted to check it out. What I _really_ wanted to do was ride Flight on the trail . . . but I knew that it wasn't possible. Flight wasn't a lesson horse yet. He'd just retired from the show ring (although he's only twelve years old), and wasn't trained to be an academy (as they called them) horse yet. He was too goofy, and spirited I guess. I still thought that it would be nice to walk the trail, see what's on it and everything.

"Great. Let me know if anything exciting happens," Michelle joked. I smiled.

"Will do!" I laughed over my shoulder as I turned and walked towards Flight's stall.

I gently petted Flight's muzzle after I sat on the door of his stall. He lifted his head and prodded his hoof on the ground excitedly. I grinned and rubbed his neck tenderly, getting a slight whinny in response.

I glanced at the trail in the distance. Oh, how I'd love to ride Flight on it. I sighed and jumped down from his stall door, ready to start exploring it. As I walked away, I heard Flight pound his hoof noisily on his stall door. When I turned around to look at him, he stopped and perked up his ears. I rolled my eyes. Goofy horse. I started heading towards the trail again, and smiled, amused when Flight started pounding his stall door again. He was such a nut.

—x—

Nothing particularly exciting happened on the trail. I ended up finding a nice tree to sit under and pulled out my book out of my small backpack to read. I wanted to read the ending again. The last time I read it, I could hardly see the page through my tears. The author took the time to write the book's ending, and I wanted to read every word. I knew that I would start crying again. It was always easier to read something the second time.

I started reading at the part where the horse Lay Me Down was lying in the sun. Lay Me Down had had an eye infection for a while, and they knew that she had to be euthanized. Her owner wanted to wait until the right time to do it. It had been winter when it was decided that she must be euthanized, and her owner decided that since Lay Me Down loved the sun so much, she'd wait for a sunny day. That sunny day came . . .

_And . . ._ it all goes downhill from there. Sad part after sad part after _very_ sad part . . .

I didn't know how long I sat there reading, but the sound of hoof beats drew me out of my reveries. I snapped my head up and look over to my right. I didn't _see _anything, but the sound was getting closer. I could feel the Earth shaking beneath me. I knew it was a horse, but what I didn't know was who was riding it and why they were going so _fast. _

A magnificent white stallion emerged from the trees. I could hardly get a good look at him at the speed he was moving at, but I could see that he was strong, powerful . . . and no one was riding him. I leapt to my feet, preparing to chase him and bring him back to the farm, my first thought being "_one of the horses got loose!"_ I didn't have a chance to.

More hooves sounded behind me, but they were more irregular and just plain odd sounding. I slipped my book back into my bag, and right as I did, something _snatched me off of the ground. _Just picked me up by my arm roughly, and threw me behind them at something. Wasn't that polite. I landed on my stomach (which knocked the air right out of me), and I could tell that I was on some kind of . . . _thing. _Something held my hands behind my back, and I was beginning to feel like some sort of captive. I looked up and my gaze met two beady red eyes. I knew exactly what it was, and frankly it made me more angry than confused.

"Let _go of me!_" I screamed at it, squirming on the back of the giant brown pig to kick the stupid green thing that was holding me. It let out a grunt of surprise, and I almost smiled. Then it _slapped_ me. Hard. I groaned and leaned back a little bit. Ouch. Anger churned inside my stomach and I gritted my teeth. The idiot had just _slapped_ me. It. Was. Going. To. _Die._ I shook loose of its grip, seized my small backpack, and raised it above my head, turning to face the hideous green thing. I brought it down on its head, and then before he could recovery, hit him with it again across the side of his face.

"Take _this, _you _dirty, filthy, idiotic . . ._" I proceeded to call him ever insult that I could possibly think of, while continuing to beat him with my bag. Ah, the power of bags!

Suddenly, the green thing's partner in crime (who was driving the giant pig), turned around and grabbed me by my neck. I yelped in surprise, and tried to get free. Apparently, this one was stronger than the other one. The other green thingy gave a little grin and took the opportunity to punch my face. Ever been punched by a little green demon? If not, let me tell you, it _hurts. _He punched me in my stomach and I tried kicking him. Surprisingly, it worked. I got him somewhere and he groaned slightly. His partner said something to him angrily. I figured that he said something like, "You stupid, _worthless_ weakling!" But, I didn't have much time to think about it before it _flung_ me off the back of its giant pig.

I landed on my side in a puddle of water. I blinked in bewilderment and sat up, dazed. As soon as my sense came back to me, I remembered my book and looked around for my backpack. Thankfully, it had fallen off of my back before I landed in the water and was laying a few feet away from me, on dry land. I grunted and slowly got to my feet. _What had just happened?_ I walked over to my bag, slinging it across my back and taking a look around. I definitely wasn't on the trail anymore.

When my adrenaline wore out, I realized something: _I'd just been abducted by Bulblins!_

_--x--_

By now I was wishing that I had a softball with me, something hard that I could chuck at the Bulblins as I watched them ride away in the distance. I wasn't through giving it a piece of my mind. I looked around me and inside of my backpack. Not a single rock or _anything_ that I could use. Ugh. I'd find a way to get back at them later.

What really surprised me was how I was taking all of this. Here I was, standing in the middle of some foreign land, just escaping being held hostage by two fictional creatures, and I was thinking of chucking a softball at a Bulblin. Where _was_ I anyway? I looked at my surroundings, trying to use some of my ninth-grade logic to make some sense of all of this. Of course, it didn't.

What I saw was the sun beginning to set in the distance, casting a shadow over a large and beautiful bridge. I'd seen it before, of course, but not like this. The last time I saw it was when I was playing a Legend of Zelda game in the basement of my house. I stared in awe at the one and only Bridge of Eldin.

I started to make my way over to the bridge, wondering if I'd missed any of the action, but then stopped myself. I was able to put two and two together and know that I was in Hyrule, in the field outside of Kakariko Village to be exact. If I was right that meant that there were three Bulblin on the bridge: two at either side and one waiting at the top of the side facing me. All three were archers. I could have easily taken them . . . _if_ they were on my television screen _where they were supposed to be_! I sighed in exasperation. This was going to be difficult.

I figured that since I'd been kidnapped by Bulblins on giant pigs that I _always_ forgot the name of, Link hadn't done his 'heroly duties' yet. If he had, they'd be on our side and left me alone. I couldn't see whether or not the bridge was fixed from where I stood. I almost hoped it wasn't, recalling that at one point in the game, there were three Twilit Messengers on the other side of the bridge. I didn't want to run into them. Especially since my only weapon was a small backpack with a book in it that I'd used like an old lady beating up a purse snatcher. I almost smiled at the thought.

Ugh. _What got me into this mess? _Then I remembered the horse. _What_ had happened to him? _Why _were they chasing him? What had he done to them? _Where _was he? I looked around wildly for the beautiful creature, but he was nowhere to be seen. My heart sank with disappointment. I hoped that he got away safely. The poor horse was probably still being chased, unless the Bulblins changed course when they tossed me overboard. I was still mad about that and I felt that I had every right to be.

I didn't exactly know what to do now. I'd been dumped in the middle of a Hylian field with no weapon. I couldn't go across the Bridge of Eldin because of the archers, and I didn't know if Kakariko was still filled with monsters. A wiser person might have chosen to go to Kakariko, figuring that if there were still monsters there, they'd find Renado and wait for Link. I, on the other hand, was still too mad at the idiots that brought me here to have that thought cross my mind, and took off angrily in the direction that they disappeared into, mumbling what I thought of them under my breath.

I was standing on the edge of the bridge leading into the next Hyrule field when I realized how stupid I was being. I couldn't even hear the hoof beats now. How was I supposed to follow them? I was back where I'd started, not knowing what to do and where to go. I looked up at the Hyrule field and my breath caught in my throat. Yeah, my memory was good enough to remember the three Bulblin archers, but it completely _forgot all _of the stupid monsters in Hyrule Field. Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_ I took a step backwards and just watched them for a couple of minutes. They didn't seem to have noticed me yet, so I assumed that I was safe.

Not knowing what else to do, I sat down where I was, at the edge of the bridge, and pulled out my book. Yes, I was stuck in the middle of a crisis that had gotten me abducted by fictional characters and taken me in a land from a video game and I decided to pull out my book and _read_. I was sure that I'd think of something. I just needed . . . _time. _Time and a good book to calm me down a little.

I found that I couldn't concentrate on my book (imagine that), so I took out my notebook and began to doodle. Before long, I'd drawn a picture of tall, strong white horse. I gave him a long mane and made it appear to have just been taken out of braids. His tail was long, but it didn't drag on the ground. Instead, it billowed in the wind, making him appear to be a horse out of a fairy tale, the kind that only the royalty or the hero rode. I stared at it for a while, still wondering why the Bulblins had been chasing it.

An angry screech tore me out from my daydreaming, and I was shocked to see a hideous purple Bokoblin charging towards me. I stared in horror as he approached me. What had made him see? Last time I checked he was _a lot _further away! He was almost upon me and I began to scoot backwards. I was sure that my eyes were the size of golf balls. My heart pounded against my chest. What was I going to do? I didn't have a weapon! I highly doubted that trying to beat him like an old lady did with her purse wasn't exactly going to work on this guy. It must've been my _lucky_ day 'cause there was _no_ stick next to me for me to use, _no_ rock, _no nothing_!

The Bokoblin was upon me now, raising its mutated stick weapon in preparation to strike. I began to shake and tried to move backwards, hitting the side of the bridge. Now _what? _I tried to look menacing towards it, trying to narrow my eyes enough to produce a decent glare, but I knew that my fear showed through. I could feel it. It was an icy feeling where my anger had been earlier, slowly moving up my body, freezing every inch of my as it crept up my spine.

I was admitting defeat when another screech sounded from behind the Bokoblin. _Oh no, _I thought, _there's _two _of them!_ I closed my eyes, preparing for the worse. I heard a sickening crunching sound, but felt no pain. I cracked one eyes open.

The Bokoblin was lying face down on the ground in front of me. I assumed it was unconscious. Above it stood a lone stallion, the sun illuminating his snowy pelt. He set his golden eyes on me, and reared up in the air, lashing out with his front legs. I stayed frozen on the ground, not believing what I was seeing. The stallion tipped his head back and let out what I referred to as the Stallion's Scream, the wind blowing his mane back and his tail billowing in the wind. He was beautiful, and must have come from the finest of bloodlines. He looked just like I'd imagine a fairy tale horse to look like. Just like in my picture . . .

And then, he whirled around and in less than a second he was off. I just sat there, watching him leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here's chapter two. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue this. Also, don't be afraid to let me know if you think that my character is becoming Mary-Sueish. Oh, and don't be afraid to pitch me some ideas! I love ideas! Let me know some things that you might want to see happen!**

**You should know that I don't own Legend of Zelda, so is there really a need for a disclaimer? XD**

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Well, now that I had encountered the third monster type thing (unless you count the giant pig that the Bulblins rode), I decided that chasing after the things that tried to kill me wasn't such a great idea. By this time, I'd _just _remembered another bridge that could be used to get to Castle Town. Yeah, it took me _that_ long . . . It was a _lot_ smaller than the Bridge of Eldin, but it was closer to the town.

I sprinted down to the bridge, hoping nothing would just randomly start chasing me or something like that. Hopefully they wouldn't pop out at me either. That was the last thing that I needed. When I reached the bridge, I turned around quickly, just to be certain. Nothing was there, so I was feeling pretty proud of myself.

_And_ then I remembered that there were Bulblins at this bridge too, right outside of the gate to get into Castle Town. Great. This time, however, there was a rock next to me. I grinned evilly as a picked it up and bounced it on my palm.

"Prepare to meet your doom," I mumbled as I aimed for the Bulblin with the bow's head. I pulled my arm back, did a slight crow hop, and chucked the thing as hard as I could towards it. The rock whizzed towards it, but curved to the right, _right _before it could hit its face. I grumbled to myself. So much for that plan. Obviously I needed to practice throwing before softball season started up. The Bulblins stared at the rock dumbly and then looked in the direction that it came from. Of course he saw me. He pointed the bow at my head and I ducked behind the wall. There weren't any more rocks. No second chances. The only thing left for me to do was run as fast as I could to Castle Town and hope not to get hit. Yup, sounded like a plan.

I took a deep breath and peered around the corner at the Bulblin. He said something to his buddy with the club, and his buddy glanced in my direction and smirked. I ducked behind the wall again and held my breath. He was coming my way. I could tell. I shut my eyes and turned my head in their direction again. I opened one eye slightly and was greeted by two beady red eyes. I gasped and fell backwards two steps. He grinned and raised the club above his head in preparation to hit me. I ducked out of the way and grabbed his club by the handle. He stared at me as if to say 'Great, you have a hold on my weapon. Now what?' I tried to yank it out of his hands, but he kept a strong hold on it, giving me questioning looks as I pulled back. Fine then. I glared at it and pulled back again. It rolled its eyes and I took that moment to thrust the club forwards into its face. He grunted and started back at me dumbly. I thrust forward again, and it groaned. _Hey, I'm hurting it! _I thought. I thrust it again, giggling at the funny noise that it made, then I pulled back on the club and he released it. I hit him on the head and then took off sprinting towards the entrance of Castle Town, screaming, "I got a weapon! I got a weapon!" The now weaponless Bulblin looked at its bow and arrow friend and shrugged. They seemed pretty amused.

I wonder what the soldier at the gate thought of me as I charged through with a club half the size of me, laughing evilly . . . and loudly. My legs had a mind of their own by now and took an immediate right upon entering the town. I ran until I tripped over my own shoe laces and became face to face with a little white puppy that had been sleeping on the ground. She popped on eye open to look at me and then jumped to her feet, nipping at my sleeves. I giggled and put her in my lap, reaching for my club and setting it next to me. I patted the puppy on the head, earning a lick in return. I was still laughing from my Bulblin encounter, and I guess I looked kind of strange sitting in the middle of the path with a Bulblin club to my left and a puppy on my lap while giggling uncontrollably. A person walking by stopped to stare down at me with a confused expression. I looked up and smiled, doing that weird little point thing that people used to do while saying "Sup?". He took a few steps backwards and walked away hurriedly. Probably thought that I was insane. Wonder why.

Eventually, I got up and started to walk through the streets of Hyrule, a club in my hand and a puppy nipping at my heels. I didn't exactly know where I was going . . . or what I should do. Yeah, I knew I had to get back somehow, sometime before seven o'clock or else my mom would _freak_. Somehow I'd wandered into the middle of Castle Town and was staring blankly at the giant fountain in the middle. I sighed. Might as well take a look around. I decided that I'd start with that store that Malo takes over eventually, just out of curiosity.

I started to turn the knob, but the man by the door stopped me. I looked at him questioningly and he glared down at my shoes, pointing at them. I looked down. They were a little dirty, I'll admit, some mud and dirt from the horse farm and Hyrule field, and there was a hole in the toe on my right shoe. I shrugged and started to walk inside, but he stopped me again.

"What?" I growled at him, glaring into his small black eyes.

"Your shoes," he said as if I was supposed to know what he meant by that.

"What about them?"

"They're dirty." Well, _obviously._

"Thanks for pointing out that out, Captain Obvious. Now if you don't mind, I'll be on my way," I snapped. He grimaced.

"You can't go in with shoes like _that_." I snorted and put my hands on my hips.

"If you keep shooting down people's shoes, you are going to lose a whole lot of customers fast, and then you'll go out of business. Then, you'll be starving on the streets with no house and no money to support your family. Now, do you still not want to let me in?" The man winced and stared at me, mouth wide open. I guess women weren't supposed to talk like that here. I shrugged and walked inside.

The inside was decked out in an attempt to look fancy. I stood on red carpeting with a golden pattern to border it. The place was spotless thanks to a youngish boy who held a towel and wiped up any microscopic dirt that hit the floor. I wonder how much he got paid for that. The only moving thing was a man who stood by what I assumed to be the checkout counter. He was pointing at the armor that was on the wall and laughing for some strange reason. I furrowed my brow and watched him.

"That's ridiculous!" he laughed. The store keeper stared down at him.

"Can I _help _you?" he grunted. The strange boy met his gaze evenly.

"Well, yeah, I guess. Why don't you tell me the actual price of that armor!" Apparently he was getting a kick out of what he thought to be a fake price. The shop keeper glared at him.

"That is the actual price. Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to buy something? If not, get out of the way! There are plenty of other people that I can help!" The boy laughed.

"You mean the only other person in here?" He glanced over at me and smiled. "Hey, girl, you can come over here and see if this man can help you! That's if you can afford the prices!" I took a step forward. The shop keeper stared me with disgust.

"I hope that you are wealthier than those clothes that you are wearing," he snarled, wrinkling up his nose. I walked over and slammed my fist down on the counter.

"Listen here," I snapped. "I've just been taken from my home, been held hostage by a couple idiot monster type things, thrown into a puddle of water, chased by a _purple_ monster, rescued by a horse, harassed by two more _green_ monsters, gotten looks from just about everyone in town, and I am certainly _not in the mood to be told off by a cowardly shrimp like you!_ Lay off!" Well, I hope that cut him deep. I glared straight into his eyes, waiting for his response.

"So you're not going to buy anything?" he asked finally. I bristled. _You think?_ The boy next to me laughed.

"See, she's not going to buy anything from you either! Bet she thinks that you're ridiculous too!" Great, now I had someone putting words in my mouth. My gaze snapped over to him and I glared right into those blue eyes of his. He thought it was funny, or that it proved his point so he smiled at me. I wasn't in the mood to be friendly. I pulled my arm back and punched that smile of his. That was the first time I really punched someone. I hoped that it hurt. With that deed done, I stalked out of the store to see that the little puppy had left me. Great. At least I still had my club.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and I whirled around to see that stupid guy. I snorted at him and crossed my arms.

"Well, what do you want?" I grunted. Being polite was the last thing on my mind.

"What was with the punch, girl?" he asked. I smiled as I saw the bruise beginning to form on his face.

"What about it? Did it hurt?" I teased. I noticed the sword on his back. "Too much for the little swordsman?" He glared at me.

"Nah," he said, "I just wanted to return it." Before I could do anything, he punched me right back across my face. It hurt. I rolled away from his face and glared at him.

"Go away, Link," I spat, hoping he'd freak out at the sound of his name. I saw surprise in his eyes.

"How do you know my name?" he asked, his voice stony. I snorted.

"That doesn't matter now does it?" I grunted. Then a thought came to me. I knew how to get my revenge.

"Yes it does. How. Do. You. Know. My. Name?" He was getting impatient, so I thought that I might as well tell him.

"Well, if you must know . . ." I started, thinking of a story to tell off the top of my head. "My name is Aikaterine and I have been sent to find you. You are to come with me. The king needs you." I was smiling inside of my head. I saw the surprise in his eyes again.

"The king . . . ? Who is the king? What are you talking about?"

"He told me to bring you to his castle. He told me to tell you that you are to join him. Join him or perish." His eyes widened and he took a step backwards. I stepped forward. Ah, sweet revenge.

"Who is this . . . king?" I smirked.

"Why, Lord Gannondorf of course." His eyes looked like giant blue saucers by now, and I stifled a laugh.

"I will never join him." Aw, he was trying to be heroic. I smiled at him.

"Then you will die," I said. "I know your location. It's too late. As long as I am here, the army will know where to go." Now that I thought that I had scared him enough, I turned and started to walk towards the main entrance/exit of Castle Town. What I didn't expect was Link to follow me. I tried to ignore him.

Once we were outside, he seized my arms and pulled them behind my back, holding his sword to my throat. I winced and stood motionless as he tied my hands together, the blade still pressed against my neck. He then literally dragged me over to his horse. Great. _Now _I was in trouble. Let this be a lesson to all of you out there reading this. Don't mess with the supposed hero by telling him that you are one of his enemies.

I temporarily forgot that I was being taken prisoner when I looked at his tall and beautiful Shire mare. I smiled up at her and wished I had a free hand to pat her with. Link saw my gaze.

"What are you looking at?" he demanded. I shrugged.

"She's beautiful," I whispered. He looked at me and then at the horse.

"Oh, thank—wait, _what _did you do to her?" He started inspecting the mare and I couldn't hold in my laugh any longer.

"Nothing! I'm just a horse crazy person admiring a pretty Shire mare! What's wrong with that?" He didn't believe me and went on inspecting his mare, finding nothing of course. I stared at him.

"So now what?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled, probably please at the fact that he had his first prisoner. I couldn't tell him that I had been lying . . . well I _could_ but that would arouse more questions, and my way out could depend on that lie.

"I'm taking you with me so I can keep an eye on you," he growled. I rolled my eyes. It pleased me to think that he thought that I was a dangerous enemy.

"Ah, but didn't I tell you that as long I am with you, they will know your location . . ." He grimaced.

"I don't believe that," he snorted. "You don't have any way of communicating with _them_, and if you had I would have noticed it by now. By keeping you with me, I can make certain that you won't be able to escape to my enemies." He was still holding onto my arm and looked at me as if he was waiting for me to do something. "Well, get on Epona," he snapped. I rolled my eyes.

"And _how_ do you expect me to get on a seventeen hand horse without _my hands_?" He blinked slowly and then helped me on, then he himself mounted.

"Hold on," he said. I rolled my eyes again.

"I would but you need _hands_ to do that," I said bitterly. "Oh, but don't worry about me," I let sarcasm drip from my tongue like acid, "I'll just hold on with my legs while you gallop across Hyrule. No biggy. Where're you heading anyways?" He didn't answer me, but instead dismounted and began to untie my hands. Before I could make my escape, he tied my legs to the stirrups.

"There," he growled. "Is _that_ better?"

"What do you think?" I snapped. "Why don't I tie you to a horse, not tell you where I am going and see how _you_ like it!" I guess he took that as a yes. As soon as this guy untied me, I was going to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey there! I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Please let me know if you think that any character is becoming a Mary-Sue, or if you think I need to improve in one area or something among those lines. Reviews are always appreciated (seriously, I like almost scream and get really excited if I see one review, even if it's just like a three worded one)! **

**Oh, and I just want to clairify something. In the last chapter, Ami said that Link wanted to return her punch and there might have been some confusion on that because Link is not vengeful. I want to point out that Ami was not really affected by the punch _and_ she is the one telling the story to you. -hint hint- She might want to make herself look stronger than she is, or make the reader more on her side than Link's. ;) Hopefully that cleared things up a little bit.**

* * *

Okay, so my first day as prisoner went something like this:

"Hang on," he grunted. I shook my head and stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. I wasn't holding on to him if that's what he wanted. My club was tied to the front of the horse (just before Link's leg. I was surprised (in a good way) that he'd let me keep it.

"No way," I snapped.

"What is it _now_?" I crossed my arms and looked away from him.

"I'm not about to hang onto _you_." I had a feeling that he rolled his eyes at me as he spurred his horse forward. The horse lurched forward and I held on with just my legs, trying to keep my balance without the saddle. I have to admit, the fact that I was tied to the saddle helped matters _just_ a little bit.

After a while of watching the scenery pass, not knowing _where_ I was going and what this idiot thought he was going to do with me (I don't think he thinks that far), I got bored. Sort of. Okay, maybe not bored, but I really wanted to try this. I reached forward with my right hand, seized that funky looking hat off of wonder boy, and tossed it out behind me. Epona skidded to a stop which made my face fly into his back. Spitting off the side of his horse, I turned to face him.

"What's your deal?" I growled. He gave me an annoyed look.

"What do you mean 'what's my deal'? What's _your_ deal?" I tried to look innocent.

"Whatever are you talking about?" I asked in a fake innocent voice with a touch of sarcasm.

"You _threw_ my _hat_!" I grinned deviously as he got off his horse to fetch it. Heh heh. That honestly made my day. Once he got back on the horse, he dug his boots back into her sides and we were off again. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"_Now_ can you tell me where we are going?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'd tell the enemy."

"Weren't you the one who said that there was no way that I could communicate with the enemy? Wasn't that the reason you decided to keep me 'prisoner'?" Sheesh, doesn't this guy ever think? He shrugged.

"Fine. We're going to the Zora's Domain."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know!" This was getting nowhere. I sighed disappointed that he was actually going to make me think. Okay, so obviously he wanted to go to the Zora's Domain either to get to Snowpeak or to find out something about the Lakebed Temple. I poked him again.

"Are you going to the Lakebed Temple or Snowpeak?" I asked. He bristled.

"Why do you think that—"

"Because those are the only two reasons that you'd go to the Zora's Domain. Duh."

"What's a duh?"

"Oh shut up and give me the answer," I growled. How could he not know what duh is? He must have been living under a rock his entire life!

"I need to find a way to 'breathe' under water or something of the sort," he explained. I smiled.

"Now we're getting somewhere!"

I'm going to skip past the extremely boring horse ride over to the Zora's Domain that was filled with silence. I was surprised that no stupid little monsters chased us on the way over (I don't know why), but I knew that fact wasn't helping my situation too much. Link probably thought that they weren't trying to kill us because I am in league with them. I had _so_ much explaining to do when the time came to it. For now, it was better that he thought that I _was_ with ole Ganny. It was an easier concept for him to grasp instead of me having to go through explaining that I was from a different world or whatever and was on a trail and a horse popped out of _nowhere_ and then there were Bulblins following it who kidnapped me and threw me into a puddle in the middle of Hyrule Field. Yeah, I thought I'd stick with the Gannondorf thing for now.

When we'd reached the domain, Link untied me and literally pulled me off the horse and dragged me inside. Once we were inside, I let him tie up my hands again, deciding it was better not to put up a fight. Plus, maybe I could get some revenge with this. We were pretty high up in the domain, the lake being _oh I don't know_ three feet, four feet, _one hundred_ feet below us? Maybe I'm exaggerating because I didn't pull out a measuring tape to find out how accurate I was, but we were _high_. I moaned a little and began to shake, earning a confused look from Link. I glared back at him.

"We-ell," I said, my voice cracking in the middle of the word, "go do whatever you came to do or whatever. Go. Shoo." He shrugged and dragged me over to a vine growing on a wall where he tied my rope to it.

"Stay _here_," he directed.

"As if I have a choice," I sighed as I leaned against the wall. Link looked at me for another second before turning around and flinging himself off the edge of the cliff thing of stone that we were on. What an idiot. I'd laugh if he missed the lake at the bottom, but since I was tied up I couldn't look over the edge and find out. _On_ second thought, maybe I could. I don't think realized that I was strong than some vine. I pulled forward a little and the plant snapped, leaving me free to walk around. I trotted over to the edge and peered down, ignoring the somersaults that my stomach was doing. Unfortunately, the little hero made his jump into the pond and had already swum to shore. He walked over to one of the Zoras and started to have a conversation with him. Bored, I stepped back and sat down, waiting for him to come back up here and see me off the vine.

About ten minutes later, he showed up where I was. At first he was a little surprised, but then I assumed that he remembered what he'd tied me to and shrugged as he walked towards me. He seemed a little annoyed by me but not to angry. I smiled up at him.

"So . . . what's up?" I asked as we walked towards Epona. He helped me mount her. I motioned to my hands.

"No, you're keeping that on," he grunted. "We're going back to Castle Town." I rolled my eyes.

"_Why_?"

"To find Ralis. Do you know where he is?"

"Castle Town, right?" It was Link's turn to roll his eyes.

"No, I mean where in Castle Town."

"I have no clue," I lied. Some things he was just going to have to find out on his own. He sighed and jumped into his saddle, giving Epona a pat on the shoulder before he gave the signal for her to trot.

We stopped on the edge of North Hyrule Field. It was pretty late at night and Link wanted to wait until day to continue, claiming that night was dangerous. I just think that he was tired or too lazy. I sat against a tree watching him un-tack Epona (which I didn't think that he did but it makes sense), and give her a couple loving pats. It was sweet, but I still didn't like the guy. When he sat down and kept his gaze on his horse, a thought occurred to me. I poked him again (which I hoped was driving him crazy by now).

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I asked curiously. He looked at me.

"Depends on what it is." I didn't exactly know where to start.

"Do you have . . . many wild horses around here . . . like . . . have you ever . . . _seen_ any?" My question confused him.

"Er . . . no. We don't really have any wild ones. They're all tame. Sometimes there's a really spirited one that is owned, but I don't know if there are any left in the wild. If there are they are rare. Why do you ask?" I shrugged.

"You see, I sort of . . . saw one. He was white . . . well _technically_ he was a gray but saying white is so much easier than saying 'a very light shade of gray' so I'll just stick with white, but that's not the point. I was just wondering if maybe you saw him?" He shook his head.

"Consider yourself fortunate that you were able to see a wild horse," he said simply. I smiled.

"Yeah I know . . . I just wanted to know if maybe you've seen him too." Awkward silence.

Finally, Link asked, "So where's your horse?" The question caught me off guard.

"What?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Where's your horse? You don't honestly think that I'm going to believe that Zant or whomever you serve sent you to capture me without a horse, do you?" He gave me a soft smile. I giggled a little. This guy was weird. He still thought that I was one of his enemies but was trying to have a conversation with me. I guess he thought he could have a friendly conversation without giving away any useful information. Or he just didn't think that I was a threat.

"Oh, I don't have a horse," I laughed. "I wish I did though! My parents won't get me one because they say that their too expensive and everything. Well, that's their excuse. The _real_ reason is they just think they're a whole lot of responsibility (which they are), but they can't get their minds wrapped around the fact that they stay in a _stall_. My dad keeps saying stuff like "they stink" or something and I say "you know that it wouldn't stay in the house, right?" and then he'd say "yeah but I bet I'd be the one having to ride and clean up after it" but why would I want him doing that when that's the whole reason I want a horse? Seriously, I don't see the big deal. When I move out and everything I'm going to have a ranch and I will board and train horses to make money and I will have my own horse. I'll do show jumping or barrel racing or something like that too." Link blinked, surprised at my very long reply, more a rant than an answer.

"Do your parents serve your king too?" I blinked dumbly. I'd gone off on a tangent and had _completely_ forgotten that I was supposed to be an evil minion or something.

"Uh . . . sure. Yeah," I replied quickly. I think this guy was trying to interview me to try to find out any information that he might be able to use or something like that. Smart. Sort of.

"Do you know how to ride?" What kind of question was that?

"Of course!"

"Did your dad teach you?" I shook my head quickly.

"Nah, he's kind of afraid of horses. I take lessons at a farm. There's this really awesome horse there that I love. He's an American Saddlebred named Flight, and he's a flaming chestnut color. I love him to death. He's so goofy. Like, when you try to walk away from him after petting him, he kicks his stall door until you come back. If you put your head under his head, he'll try to squeeze you really hard. If you just stick your hand out to his nose, he'll put his nose on your hand and keep it there with a funny expression on his face until you start petting him. He comes when he's called and you don't even need to lead him anywhere because he follows you like a dog! He's so cute." Yeah, I went off on a tangent again. I have a habit of doing that. Link laughed a little bit. I think he noticed.

"Why's your dad afraid of horses?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Not really _afraid_ just . . . nervous. I asked him why and he said "they're _big_"," I replied. His reasoning still sounded silly to me. Link seemed amused.

"What's an American Saddlebred?" he asked. Oh, right, I forgot. They probably didn't have names for horse breeds yet and if they did it wouldn't have America in it.

"It's a breed of horse," I explained.

"Breed?"

"Kind, basically. For example, your horse, Epona, would be a Shire since she is all big and buff and her legs have feathers, see?" Link looked at Epona and tried to follow what I was saying. Finally, he nodded.

"Okay . . ." he murmured. Great, I was confusing him with my modern day horse talk. He looked back at me but said nothing. I had the feeling that he was studying me for some reason. The awkward silence carried on for about ten minutes before I got tired of it.

"What is it?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes.

"You aren't Hylian." He pointed at my ears. "Your ears aren't pointed, and you don't have any Hylian features in your face. Where are you from?" I looked down at my feet. He wouldn't believe me if I told him. He'd think I was lying. Besides, he was just trying to find out information, so I could show that I was onto his little scheme or whatever.

"Do you honestly think that I am going to tell you?" He looked down at his feet with an 'it was worth a try' look on his face. I sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you this. I'm from somewhere hot so I'm not really used to extremely cold weather. I can handle about down to 57 degrees Fahrenheit but then I'm done and desperately need a jacket. I like temperatures of about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity really affects me because I am used to _dry_ heat. Seriously, when I moved from a place with dry heat to a place with humidity and then went to one of my . . . um, little lesson things that I do for a sport that I play . . . I about passed out. I _hate_ humidity. It's awful!" Link had a crooked smile on his face. Well, Link, I'm glad that I could provide some amusement to you.

"You know it gets pretty humid here," he said smiling. Oh yeah, I'd noticed. I was too distracted by Bulblins and other idiotic things earlier but while we were on that silent and boring horse ride to the Zoras', I'd _noticed _it and I was so thankfully that I didn't sweat too much. Why did he have that stupid grin still on?

"Yeah I know. Congratulations, you get to see me sweat like a _pig_ when I have to work out," I said. I began to get into a yoga pose against the trunk of the tree. The pose is basically, I put one of my knees on the ground and have my lower leg propped up flat against the tree. Then I have to get into a really good lunge (thrust out your hips, sit up straight, yada yada yada). Link stared at me like I was insane.

"What are you doing?" he asked. I looked at him and smiled slightly, my eyes narrowed.

"Physical therapy. This is one of the stretches I have to do 'cause my knees have issues. It's called Satan's Pose*****. Not kidding." ***I don't mean any offense with this statement. This is an actual pose and I put the name in here for those of you who actually know what it is, therefore you understand clearly what she is doing. ;)**

"Why?"

"I think it's because it _burns_," I answered, my eyes still narrowed. Great. I had to do this for ninety seconds and then switch legs. "Wanna distract me?"

"I probably shouldn't . . ."

"No, seriously, you probably should. Keep my mind off of it or something."

"What's wrong with your knees?"

"They have issues."

"Okay . . ." He wasn't going to be any help so I decided to ask a question.

"What was the stupidest thing you've ever done?" I asked.

"What makes you think that I've done something stupid?" I gave him one of those looks.

"Well, because you're _you_. You've made a lot of mistakes already and I've only known you for a day."

"Name one," he challenged, glaring at me.

"You took me as a 'prisoner' without thinking. You didn't know how to keep a prisoner or how to keep an eye on a prisoner to make sure he or she did not escape while you were off doing something else. _That_ was stupid mistake number one." I laughed at his face and he quickly clamped his dropped jaw shut. He seemed thoughtful for a few moments before he replied.

"Okay, well now I do know what I am going to do with you," he said.

"Do tell."

"I'll drop you off at Kakariko where Renato will keep a sharp eye on you," he said simply.

"What makes you think that I'll stay?" I asked, a sly smile creeping onto my lips. Before Link could respond, a three foot tall (okay four feet) imp jumped out of his shadow and popped into my face. I yelped and fell backwards, staring at the thing in surprise. She laughed at my reaction. I tried to get up, but my hands were still tied behind my back and I fell back over.

"Help?" I grunted in a monotone. I heard Link chuckle as he pulled me (harder than needed) back onto my feet. I was certain that I was the klutziest (and that is not a word) captive he'd ever have. The imp laughed harder.

"Well, I've never seen a human quite as clumsy as you," she said in her eerie high voice. I gritted my teeth.

"Apparently you haven't met many humans," I retorted. She was unaffected.

"And yet you think that you'd be able to make an escape from Kakariko . . ."

"Of course." She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

"Well, I, for one, doubt it. Don't worry, we'd have some high security on you, monitoring your every second . . . we'd have to punish you if you acted up . . . Oh, and did I mention that there's a _graveyard_ in Kakariko?"

"Midna!" Link snapped, his voice sounding more pleading than silencing. Guess he wasn't so great at authority. She looked at him and smiled, shrugging.

"It's true," she giggled before disappearing back into his shadow. I looked at Link.

"Well isn't she charming."

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**Hey, I actually wrote seven pages! Hopefully they were interesting and didn't bore you too badly. I'm trying to get the plot to kick in soon, so don't worry. I know that I wasn't very descriptive and I want to apologize for that. I'm almost brain dead at the moment. XD Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Horse: a large four-legged animal with a mane, tail, hooves, and a long head. Riding, pulling vehicles, carrying loads. Latin name: _Equus caballus.

It was morning and I found myself flipping through my notebook while Link was packing up and preparing everything. He'd finally taken the ropes off of me because, seeing how much of a klutz I was, and that I was _just _a human and not some teleporting twilight freak, he said that if I tried to escape he'd easily be able to catch me. Eh, it's probably true since he's the one with the horse.

While he was preparing everything, he'd found my notebook and started looking through it. When I saw what he was doing, I of course bolted over to where he was and asked . . . okay _demanded_ . . . it back. He had ignored me and kept looking through it, skimming over my doodles and everything. When he came to writing, he would squint a little bit and cock his head. Finally he asked me what language it was in because apparently he couldn't read it. I shrugged and said that it was my native language, and he just nodded. He asked me to read him a little of it. I think that it was to see if it was anything that would come back to bite him or something. I don't know, but I shrugged and looked over at what I'd written on the page.

"Oh," I'd said, "that's just a bunch of random horse names that a friend of mine and I put together." He gave me one of those looks so I continued, "They're show names like . . ." I pointed to one on the page, "This is one of the ones that I came up with because it's a racing name: New York Minute. And this one . . ." I pointed to another one, "is one that my friend came up with because it's more of the dressage type of name: Imperial Majesty." He had looked hopelessly confused at this point. I guess that people here didn't have show names for their horses.

"People where you are from actually call a horse New York Minute?" he'd asked. I guess he thought it was sort of a mouthful.

"That's just the _show_ or _racing _name," I'd explained. "The stable name is one that people usually call it. For example, I know a horse named Americana Flight, but we just call him Flight. There's also a horse called Anniversary Surprise, but everyone calls him Pepper, so I guess in a way they have two names." I think that he was starting to understand that a little. He studied the page for a while longer and then pointed to a name at the bottom that my friend had written in all capital letters.

"How about this one?" He'd asked. I'd followed his gaze and gritted my teeth. My friend had written that name as a joke.

"That one," I had sighed, "is EPIC FAIL, but my friend was joking when she wrote it. We'd never actually name a horse that." After a while he had turned to me and held my note book out to me.

"Here," he'd said, "there's nothing in here that will really do you any good so . . . well, you can have it." I'd grinned and snatched up the notebook, in the process letting out a delighted squeal before plopping myself down and skimming the pages.

On one of the pages, my friend and I were having an English verses Western riding debate, probably during one of the many boring assemblies at our school. I rolled my eyes at it as I started to read.

_Western VS English_

_I like English VS Western better . . ._

_Fine._

_English is prettier._

_ Western is funnier._

_That's not a word._

_Wanna bet?_

_In English you get to show and the horses are all graceful because they're moving with that high step sort of motion and their heads are held high and it's really pretty._

_You have to sit up straight though. That's uncomfortable for me after a while._

_Well, Western is _sloppy_._

_. . ._

_ . . ._

_ . . . _

_ NO IT'S NOT! You just don't have to sit up straight as a board and the horse doesn't have to worry about getting its hooves up high enough to impress the judges and it isn't so strict and everything._

_Slooooppy._

_No, it just allows more freedom! It's joy riding. You get to actually _connect_ with the horse instead of being so worried about show preparations and everything._

_You connect with the horse in English . . ._

_Yeah, but it's more fun in Western 'cause you don't have people yelling at you what to do if you want to when a show if you're just joy riding. Of course, shows can be fun too, so that's why I do English _and _Western. _

_I still prefer English._

_That's a matter of opinion I guess. To me, English is how you show. Western is how you _ride. _I guess if I had to compare it to something . . . I'd say English is like ballet and Western is like football (_WHOO! FOOTBALL!)_. Ballet is all strong and graceful and pretty and everything while football is all . . . well you know, _FOOTBALL!_ They're both considered sports . . . but I guess football is considered more of a sport like barrel racing to show I guess. I dunno. Does that make since?_

_Nope. Not at all. XD_

I giggled a little bit and turned the page to see a picture that I drew in math class, an agile showy looking horse with an extremely long mane. It was kind of a plain picture since I don't usually color my pictures (it takes time and a pencil sharpener that I usually don't carry with me).

"Aikaterine." I lifted my gaze to look around the field to see who Link was talking to. I didn't see anyone, so I turned my attention back to the notebook and turned the page. "Aikaterine!" Oh hey, look, it's a picture Michelle drew of Pepper . . .

A hand grabbed my shoulder and my head whipped up to see Link standing over me. "Aikaterine," he growled. Oh . . . right. He's talking to me. Oops. "Why don't you answer me?" I shrugged.

"Sorry," I laughed, getting to my feet. Man was I glad to have those ropes off of my hands! I smiled and handed him my notebook. "Where should I put this?" He took it from me and put it in a saddlebag on Epona. When he was finished he looked over at me and motioned towards his steed.

"Get on," he grunted. Well, _someone_ wasn't happy to have me around. Well . . . I guess I wasn't so thrilled to be around him either, so we were even. I trotted over and jumped up into the saddle before he could protest and picked up the reins. Looking alarmed, he leaped onto the back of the horse and reached for the reins in my hands.

"Well this is _much_ better," I laughed.

"What are you doing?" Aaw, he thought I was trying to escape.

"Well I don't want to ride behind you," I said. "You got the saddle yesterday. It's my turn." He shook his head.

"No. Get off and get behind the saddle."

"But it's my turn."

"No! My saddle. My horse," he said matter-of-factly. Ugh, no way. I kicked Epona forwards and she took off at a fast canter, taking me off guard. I fell back a little bit before regaining my balance and shoving my feet back into the stirrups. She veered to the left, and I looked back to see Link still on the back of her. Sheesh, how did that boy stay on? He couldn't have been expecting me to start Epona unless I'm getting _that_ predictable. I looked around and made a mental note that the layout of Hyrule seemed to be identical to the WII version. I _knew_ I should have gotten that one when it came out . . . oh well.

Epona slowed upon entering the village of Kakariko. Link hopped off, and, having me by the waist, yanked me off too. I yelped and came down with a very ungraceful landing. I glared up at green elf boy, spitting dirt out of my mouth. The side of his mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile. Epona trotted happily over to the Spirit's Spring, stopping next to the horse grass near it and nuzzling it with her nose.

"What was that for?" I growled to Link as I picked myself off of the ground. He shrugged and walked forwards, taking me by the arm and dragging me with him. I felt like _such_ a weakling at that moment. He pulled me over to a tall building, known in the games as the Sanctuary. As he opened the door to walk in, I yanked my arm away from him.

"I can walk on my own," I snapped. He stared at me for a moment before pushing me inside.

The inside was nice and airy, torches lined on the wall on the perimeter of the room. A giant statue stood slightly off to the side of the middle of the room to reveal a whole leading to a basement floor. It really should be covered up so that no one slips and falls. A tall man with long braided black hair stood next to the statue, and he looked at Link as we walked in. Link let go of me and gave me a look that clearly read 'stay _here_'. I nodded slightly and smiled which, knowing me by now, made him a little suspicious, but he reluctantly walked over to the man that I considered to be Renado.

They sure took their time when they were talking while I was just standing over away from them, twiddling my thumbs. Becoming bored with that, I began to count out the seconds. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven . . . Still talking . . . eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen . . .

. . .nine hundred one, nine hundred two, nine hundred three . . .

. . . one thousand two hundred, one thousand two hundred one . . .

"Aikaterine." FINALLY! I trotted up to them like a dog that has finally been called on.

"Yes?" I asked, smiling. Neither of them seemed amused. Link spoke first.

"This is Renato," he said and I nodded slightly . . . wait, did he say Rena_to_? The man looked at me and held out his hand.

"You must be Aikaterine," he said. "It's nice to meet you." I grinned and shook his hand. At least someone had manners.

"You're going to stay in Kakariko," Link explained. "Renato's going to keep an eye one you. If you act up I'll be over here in a heartbeat." Was he trying to threaten me? I scowled.

"If _you're _the worst thing that'll happen, I think I can handle it," I growled. Link grimaced. "Besides, what do you expect me to do here? Lounge around all day waiting for something? Heck, I won't even be _waiting _for anything! There's nothing to look forward to unless it's my _death_." That got his attention. He opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't find the words to. He knew that I was right. "Fine," I grunted. "I'll stay here with Renado." I crossed my arms and looked away from him. He poked my arm.

"Aikaterine, it's Rena_to_," he said simply. I glared at him, wanting to reply, 'no it _isn't! _I've _played_ the game enough to know that it's Rena_do_!', but I decided against it. Maybe the game creators got his name wrong? It doesn't matter anyways, but Renado sounds a lot better. Renato sounds like 'rent a toe'. Eew.

"Whatever," I muttered, and looked at him. "Well, why are you still here? You dropped me off, now _go_!" He stared at me for a few moments, apparently surprised that I wanted him to leave so badly.

"Fine them," he murmured and turned to walk out the door. I followed him to make sure that he left, Rent a Toe following close behind. As soon as he walked outside, Link was literally tackled by some brunette kid with a red bandana in his hair that looked more monkey than human. A blonde boy walked up slowly behind the brunette boy and smiled timidly. Link laughed and pulled bandana boy off of him and ruffled the blonde boy's hair.

Turning to me, he smiled slightly and said, "Aikaterine, this is Colin," he gestured to the blonde boy, "and this . . ." he gestured to bandana boy, "is Talo." Hey, they got the names right! Talo looked up at me, wrinkled his nose, and turned back to Link.

"Well what's _she_ doing here?" he asked rudely as if I couldn't hear him. I crossed my arms and cocked my hips.

"_Excuse_ me?" I snarled. The howler monkey turned to look at me. "You know I'm standing _right here_, you know!" Talo wrinkled his nose again.

"Well _who_ are _you_?" he demanded, again rudely. I rolled my eyes.

"If you were the _least_ bit observant, you would have already heard Link say my name," I scoffed.

Colin leaned forward and whispered, "It's Aikaterine," in Talo's ear. Talo rolled his eyes and pushed Colin aside.

"I _knew_ that, Colin," he snapped. Colin looked down at his feet. By this time I really wanted to chuck something at the little idiotic monkey. I think Link saw me bristling because he got to his feet and gave Talo a warning glance which made Talo shut his yapper. He then waved goodbye to the kids and walked over to Epona. Colin watched him leave with admiration. I rolled my eyes as he cantered away, noticing my bag and club on the ground where his horse was. At least he didn't put them in the spring.

—x—

"Why . . . do you think he left you here then?" I was sitting on the fence to the right of the entrance to the Sanctuary, facing the Spirit's Spring and talking to Colin. Colin was listening to my ranting of 'dang why did he leave me here there's no action'. He told me that it was for my own safety, but I'd pointed to my club and told him that I could fight. He'd finally given up and asked for my opinion of it. I really didn't know the answer though.

"I think it's because . . ." How was I going to say this? ". . . I lied to him." Colin raised his eyebrows, and I looked away from him and back to the Spirit's Spring. Great, I let it slip, but this kid was so easy to talk to. I sighed.

"Why'd you lie Aikaterine?" he asked. What was he, my psychiatrist or something? I rolled my eyes.

"'Cause I was totally ticked off and annoyed. I don't know . . . but you can stop calling me Aikaterine around me, 'cause that's part of the lie," I said, winking at him. He furrowed his brow.

"Your name's not Aikaterine?" I shook my head.

"No, it's Ami. I told Link that I was siding with an evil king named Gannondorf and that I was sent bring him to him. That was such a lie!" I was laughing at this point, but Colin didn't look amused. "So, Link took me as a 'prisoner' and dumped me here!" He still didn't look amused.

"Why don't you tell him that you lied?" he asked, and I giggled a little and shrugged.

"I want to see how this plays out, so please don't tell him." It also might be a way for me to get home. I wasn't sure _how_ exactly yet, but I had a feeling that it would come in handy sometime . . . maybe. Colin sighed.

"Okay," he murmured. I grinned at him.

—x—

I spent pretty much the rest of the day in the Sanctuary because I found out that there was a piano, yes a _piano_, in the back of it. I was so excited, and I sat down and started playing random notes on it until I found a few that actually sounded pretty good together. After a couple of hours, I'd figured out how to play the intro to the song 'Concrete Angel' by Martina McBride, but of course no one here knew of that song. I played it on a lower scale, and then started to jumble up a few of the notes to form something that sounded remotely like the 'Song of Storms' from Ocarina of Time. I grinned and played it a little louder.

I looked outside the window and saw that it was night by now. Wow, I'd actually wasted an entire day on the piano. Rena_to_ had told me to come to the Elde Inn when I was finished and ready to sleep, and I was surprised that he actually trusted me enough to do that. Maybe Link didn't tell him that I was supposed to be on the evil side? Eh, he probably did.

I stepped outside into the night air and was about to take a step when I heard something in the distance: the pounding of hooves. I turned my gaze in the direction that it was coming from, the entrance to Kakariko near the Spirit's Spring, expecting Link to be riding back here with Ralis or something of the like, but the sound didn't slow as it neared the village, just louder. Suddenly, a flash of white erupted from the entrance and bolted towards me. Instinct took over as it started to pass me and I seized it by the mane and hauled myself onto it, balancing myself on its back. It skidded to a stop and reared up, letting out a high pitched scream before landing. It took me a second to realize that I was on the back of the same white stallion that had saved me earlier. My eyes widened as I reached forward to scratch his neck, but before I could, the door to the Elde Inn opened to reveal Rena_to_, staring at me in astonishment. I met his gaze for a second, and then turned my attention back to the stallion. His ears swiveled as he heard Rena_to_ take a step forwards. His head shot towards the noise, and he lunged forwards towards the entrance near Death Mountain. I yelped and held onto his mane with a death grip.

The stallion raced forwards across the field where I had been dumped by the Bulblins, and across the wooden bridge in which he had saved me from a Bokoblin on. I watched the land flash past us as I felt the stallion's body lurch beneath me. He was _fast_, and had the kind of speed and build that a gambler would want to place his bet on at a racetrack. His long mane whipped my face as we entered the next Hyrule Field.

Ahead of us I could see a palomino Shire evading a flaming arrow, shot by a Bulblin archer. The archer was quickly brought down by the blade of the man on the mare. The stallion pressed forwards towards them, and I looked around for a covered wagon, but found nothing. As I looked closer, I saw something blue on the back of Epona, holding onto Link for dear life. My eyes widened as I realize that it was the Zora prince, Ralis. That wasn't how the story was supposed to go.

The stallion screamed and reared up as an arrow was pointed at the prince, making every creature's attention in the Field turn to him. I held onto him tightly, squeezing with my knees and grasping his mane to keep from falling off as he kicked his legs out in front of him. A Bulblin aimed an arrow at us, but Link shot it down before it had the chance to release it. The stallion came down with a thud and looked over his enemies coolly. Time seemed to hang in the air until one unlucky Bulblin aimed an unlighted arrow at Link, who was too busy gaping at us to notice it. The stallion lunged forwards towards it, and a second before the arrow was released, jumped and landed _on top_ of the Bulblin, knocking it and its pig steed off their feet. I yelped in surprise and tightened my grip even more on the horse. The stallion reared up and landed on the unconscious Bulblin with his two front hooves, ultimately killing it. That's when everything started to move again.

The Bulblins charged towards Link and me, clubs raised and yelling curses at us in their strange language. The stallion turned and raced towards Epona, who was leading the way to whatever the destination was. The stallion caught up with ease and I turned my head slightly to look at Link.

"Where are we going?" I called to him over the noise of the Bulblins and the wind. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"What are you doing here? I told you to stay in Kakariko!" He pulled out his bow and launched an arrow into the chest of a Bulblin that had gotten too close.

"Long story!" I responded.

"Who's the horse?"

"_That's_ the long story!" A Bulblin pig caught up to the white stallion's flank. I wanted to punch it, but I was too fearful to let go of my grip of the horse. Luckily, the stallion knew that it was there and bucked at it, hitting the pig in the side and slamming it against the cliffside.

"We're going to the Zora's Domain!" Link finally answered. A scream made me turn my attention back to him to see that the small blue fish kid on the back of Epona had fallen off, a Bulblin and its steed standing over him, aiming with a flaming arrow. Ralis looked at Link, total fear in his eyes. Link pulled out a bow of his own, but before he could, the white stallion literally jumped over Ralis and onto the pig's side. I heard the sickening crunch of the pig's ribs as it landed on top of its master. Ralis scrambled to his feet and back up onto Epona. The white stallion took off like a racehorse when the starting gates are opened, first passing Epona, but then matching his speed to her's.

When we came to the opening of the Zora's Domain, Epona skidded to a stop by the remains of a giant boulder, but the white stallion leapt over them, landing inside the Domain and, only then, skidding to a stop, halting right before he fell off the cliff and into the water below. I gulped and shook as I saw, yet again, how high we were up. The stallion took a few steps backwards and set his golden gaze on Link, who'd just entered with Ralis at his heels.

"S-so," I said. "What was Ralis doing in . . . Castle Town?" Ralis rolled his eyes and continued to walk forward, but Link stopped to answer me.

"He ran away from the Zora's Domain because he was curious of what Castle Town looked like. He's never been there before." Ralis paused and nodded slightly. "However," Link continued, "he didn't tell anyone where he was going so they assumed that their prince was kidnapped or something of the like. His mother has been worried sick." Wait . . . _his mother_? The one that was murdered by Gannondorf in the game?

I watched Ralis leave for the throne room for a second and then turned my attention back to Link who was staring in amazement at the white stallion beneath me. I smiled at him and reached forward to gently rub the horse's muscular shoulder.

"Where did you get the horse?" he asked me.

"I didn't really get him anywhere . . . he found me," I tried to explain. He looked at me questioningly. "He kind of . . . saved me from a Bokoblin once . . . and he's kind of the reason that I'm in Hyrule. He found me again in Kakariko . . ." I patted his neck softly. "This is the first time I've ever ridden him though," I added with a smile. Link smiled slightly and took a step towards the stallion, his right hand raised so the horse could smell him. The stallion looked at him coolly with those golden eyes and took a step forward, bending his head down to his left hand and seizing the brown glove in his teeth. Slowly and gently, the horse pulled it off to reveal the mark of the Triforce, a golden birthmark of the three triangles. The stallion placed his muzzle in the middle of the three and I leaned forward to better see what was going on. That was when I noticed it: the fourth triangle. The fourth triangle was made up by the main three, and it was upside down in the middle of the Triforce. It wasn't gold . . . it was the color of Link's skin, but as the stallion's muzzle met it, it glowed white and the perimeter of the fourth triangle lit up gold. Link and I gaped at his hand, even after the horse pulled away from it and it returned to normal. I slowly looked at Link.

"What . . . just happened?" I asked. He blinked and began to pull his glove back on.

"I think that there is more to the Triforce than what we know," he murmured. As if to prove what Link had just said, the stallion tossed up his head slightly and walked forwards, then turned around to see if Link was following him. I stared at the back of the horse's head in amazement. _There's more to the Triforce than what we know . . ._


End file.
